


He Followed Me Home

by ShatteredSwallowtail



Series: Taming Dragons [23]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29883018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShatteredSwallowtail/pseuds/ShatteredSwallowtail
Summary: Yasha provides a new addition to the Borel-Wyrmblood family
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel/Estinien Wyrmblood
Series: Taming Dragons [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733218
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	He Followed Me Home

“Absolutely not.”

Those were the words that he should have said; that he _wanted_ to say to the beguiling pair of blue eyes beneath a mop of black curls. Especially when the child in question was holding out another complication to his life and uttering those fateful words.

“His name is Dragon.”

Of course it was. If he were a betting man, he could have made a wager on that and earned himself a sizable sum; Yasha named _everything_ ‘dragon’, and no degree of pointing out facts to the contrary made any difference in her stubbornness. Facts such as how everything couldn’t be called that or how could she tell the difference - she could, somehow. Or how the squirrel in the garden every morning hardly needed a name - it did, and it’s name was Dragon. So Estinien could quite easily rationalize that explaining to Yasha that the bundle of black fur clasped in her arms in no way resembled the scaled creature fluttering over her head… would be a similarly pointless endeavor.

Internally tearing his hair out, Estinien kept the stoic mask on his face as he studied this newest acquisition to the chaos his life was becoming. Feline, young, and solid black with the vaguest hints of speckles on it’s flanks and striping ringing it’s long tail. As if the evil voidsent christened ‘Snowball’ didn’t already reign over their household with malevolent glee...now this.

“I see. And where did he come from?”

That was a safe enough question; Yasha had no inclination towards falsehood and the one time he’d caught her out in a lie about who had spilled a jar of blue paint across Aymeric’s desk the dragoon had been quick to impress on her that such deception was not to be tolerated and would be punished severely in future. Mistakes were inevitable, and would be dealt with as deemed appropriate. Lying would not be tolerated, however. He’d been grateful to have Aymeric’s backing on that one, not only for the solidarity but because his husband had been so much better at gently yet firmly explaining to Yasha that when a person made a mistake or did something wrong, it was the honourable and right thing to be truthful and accept the consequences.

He wouldn’t have had the patience for that, honestly, and would have just kept it simple. Something along the lines of ‘don’t lie or you’ll be punished’. It had taken Aymeric to point out to him later that given how young their daughter was, that concept would be far more nebulous to her than it was to either of them. Yasha wasn’t old enough to fully understand the relationship of action and consequence so it was necessary to provide guidance rather than simply punishment. And he was more than a little proud of himself for actually taking a moment to consider it and outwardly agreeing with Aymeric where in times past he would have rolled his eyes and suggested his husband was being too soft.

Only now he found himself silently cursing that new hint of softness his Bluebird was fostering in him as he watched Yasha cuddle her new acquisition with a smile. “The man in the market giving away kittens.”

Of course. Hardly the first time he’d seen such a thing, though it was usually an adolescent or a child crouched beside a wooden crate with a crudely lettered sign on the front. ‘Free Kittens’ or ‘Free to a Good Home’. Something of the sort, and the crate would inevitably be filled with little squirming crying balls of fur that every parent who passed through the Crozier or the Firmament’s market sector would do their very best to pull their children away from. More than once he’d smirked to himself as he watched the chagrin of a parent who had relaxed their supervision long enough to turn about and find their child with a newly acquired pet in the form of a puppy or kitten.

And now here he was, the butt of his own internal schadenfreude. With a child gazing entreatingly up at him and the words ‘can I keep him’ ringing in his ears before they had even been uttered. A situation that would no doubt have had Aymeric in stitches and he was so glad that his husband was currently entrenched in a meeting of the House of Lords and therefore unable to bear witness to his plight. And yet, there were a few things that were glaringly out of order with this scene he had been unwillingly thrust into. Firstly, if Yasha’s words were to be believed, it had been an adult and not a child giving away the unwanted progeny of his own animal.

Secondly, and arguably of a more paramount importance… _that_ was no ordinary kitten.

It certainly had the outward appearance of one. Thick, plush fur, long sinuous tail, pointed ears...slanted green eyes. Only what Yasha was clutching so tightly...was nearly the same size that she was. It was certainly a kitten; the marks of youth were there in the paws and ears that seemed too big and the little plaintive cries it made as it butted it’s head against her hand for attention. But Estinien would have wagered the whole of Ishgard against anyone who tried to declare that it was a _normal_ kitten.

Aymeric would have a field day with the repercussions if he was right in his suspicion. Not that they would be likely to find the man in question. Yasha had become almost as well known as the two of them were; not only by virtue of being the only Xaela child in the entire city of Ishgard but because the fact of her adoption by two of it’s most well known figures might as well have been written on 20 malm high banners hung from every edifice. Estinien rather doubted a man stupid enough to give a _baby coeurl_ to the daughter of the Lord Commander and the former Azure Dragoon was also stupid enough to _stay_ in Ishgard after that fact.

“He can be friends with Snowball.”

That comment from Yasha drew him back out of his musings and one eyebrow raised as he considered this new angle. Dragon - because he had no doubt that name would stick - was almost as large as his furry nemesis, and Estinien had a sudden vivid mental image of this black bundle of fur chasing the white demon from one end of the house to the other. It was more satisfying than he would have expected and he couldn’t help but grin in response as he reached one gauntleted hand to scratch the kitten’s chin with his knuckle. Aymeric would probably kill him later, but it would be worth it. Besides, hadn’t they just had a conversation about ways to make Yasha feel more at home and secure? Surely having a pet of her very own would go a long way towards that goal. And it would serve as a good means of teaching her the responsibility of caring for it that would translate into the care of her weapons and armour as she grew older and her training progressed beyond padded jerking and wooden lances.

“I think Snowball will be very glad to have a friend.”


End file.
